Please call Deb at 619-4567 if you are
unable to attend a meeting. Votes require a quorum. Thanks!

NOTE: The group
photo has been moved to August 9, since Gary will be absent from the July
meeting.

Present:

Frank Cada

Mark DeGregorio

Glen Doughty

Russ Fruits

Ron Kainer

Linda Knowlton

Barry Lewis

Steve Schweitzer

Forrest Orswell

Staff:

Shannon Barnes

Charlie Johnson

Dan Rieves

Debra Wykoff

Steve Johnson,
Commissioner

Absent:

Frank Gillespie

Rob Harris

The July 12, 2011, meeting of the Parks Advisory Board was called to order by Chair Russell
Fruits at 5:30 p.m. The minutes of the June 14, 2011, meeting were approved.

The Board welcomed two new
members: Ron Kainer was raised in Larimer County, and has lived here 46
years. He was a professional archaeologist for 9 years, and then taught high
school and coached basketball for 20 years. Glen Doughty has recently moved to
Larimer County after a career in the oil industry. He and his wife moved here
for the outdoor recreation opportunities. He lives in Timnath. He enjoys
hiking.

Rob Harris is returning to
the Board after a 2-year leave of absence; he was unable to attend this meeting.
Linda Knowlton has been reappointed to another 3-year term.

Larimer County Environmental Stewardship Awards
are due 8/31. You can nominate on line at
www.larimer.org/boards/eab/Awards/awards.htm
The awards acknowledge individuals and organizations
in Larimer County who have undertaken activities that demonstrate
exceptional stewardship of the environment.

COSA Conference reminder – Glenwood springs Sept
19-21, registration coming out soon. There will be an emphasis on
sessions for Board and Commission members and 2-3 OLAB members are
encouraged to attend.

Belt Collins, a landscape design and planning
firm out of Boulder, has donated 8-12 hours of pro-bono work to assist in
designing the new wild zone at River Bluffs Open Space

DISCUSSION &
ACTION ITEMS

Big
Thompson Flood Parcels – Charlie
Johnson, Sr. Land Agent In 1976, after the Big T flood,Larimer County acquired 153 parcels
on the Big T river. The County is now in the process of disposing of some of
the parcels, or trading them for fishing access, etc. Many parcels have also
been retained for public access.

Area
5 – Narrows:

After
the last meeting, Barry Lewis noted an error in the motions passed with regards
to Area 5 – the Narrows. Charlie presented revised language to correct that
error. The text of these proposals is attached to the minutes.

Public
comment on Area 5, Recommendation #1:

Walt
Graul, Berthoud, CO, Friends of the Big Thompson: Although the original issue
was the flood, the actual justification used for the purchase of these parcels
by the County was to preserve fishing access; and Federal Land and Water Conservation
Funds were used to acquire the parcels. The proposed trade with the owner on
the south side of the river is exciting. The professional demeanor of all
involved has resulted in a win-win situation, for which Walt, on behalf of the
Friends, commends everyone.

Lee
Evans, Ft. Collins, President of local Fly Casters, Trout Unlimited: They were
very concerned when the County began selling these parcels, but they are very
pleased with how the County is handling it, and protecting fishing access.
Their chapter has adopted the Narrows Park. They have been cleaning and
maintaining it for 6 years. They mow it in the spring, chip dead branches and
use the chippings to keep weeds and mud at bay, spray thistle, etc. So they
are very interested in the property. They have tried to be very respectful of
the neighbors next door and private property rights. Moving the parking lot is
very feasible. If there is a place for volunteer help in moving the road, they
want to offer help. They are very concerned about all the properties. The Big
Thompson is famous for not having as much public access as other rivers like
the Poudre, so they do not want to lose any public access. Keep it up.

Jim
_______, Loveland Fishing Club: Commends Charlie for his work on these
parcels. Is there any possibility of gaining additional public access to the
parcel on the north east side of the river? [No.]

Area
5, Recommendation #2:

The
adjacent property owner to the Narrows Park, Mr. Buna, proposes to a trade of a
portion of the west part of the Narrows Park from the County in exchange for
public access along the south side of the river, but not including the bank (he
owns to the center of the river.) He requests that the parking lot be moved
further to the east, using the same access point. See attached.

Board
and staff comments:

Linda
Knowlton: Will Mr. Buna fence his new property line?

Mark
DeGregorio: All the times Mr. Buna spoke to the Board, he was most opposed to
the public in the river in front of his property.

Charlie:
This will provide a buffer for Mr. Buna.

Dan
Rieves: Charlie said that Mr. Buna suggested this early in the process, but it
was stalled out because he wanted the access point moved, and there is no safe
access point closer to the bridge.

Frank
Cada: What about the estimate of cost to do this transaction? The river is
pretty narrow there.

Charlie:
The work will be done in-house, and fairly inexpensively.

Steve
Schweitzer: Has there been any discussion of signage, since this will be a
sweeping change from the past? Mr. Buna would appreciate that.

Charlie:
Yes – appropriate new signage will be developed.

Linda:
She is encouraged by the support we’ve gotten from the Friends of the Big
Thompson, and feels they will help make this work.

Linda Knowlton made, and Frank Cada seconded, a motion that the
Board support Recommendation #1. There was no discussion. The motion
passed.

Barry Lewis made, and Steve Schweitzer seconded, a motion that the
Board support Recommendation #2, authorizing staff to move forward with
negotiations on this proposal. Following discussion, below, motion passed.

Board discussion:

Linda
Knowlton: If we don’t know exactly what Mr. Buna wants should we be voting
on a motion? [This motion authorizes staff to move forward with
negotiating the specifics of the agreement.]

Area
12b – Drake – South of the bridge over the North Fork of the Big Thompson River

Area
20 – Glen Haven Road – Large flat area

Charlie
has heard from 2 previous owners of Area 12b who are interested in buying if
the opportunity exists. No response on Area 20. The 60 day public comment
period on 12b and 20 will expire at the next meeting, and there will be a staff
recommendation at that time. There is a signed contract on the Bartels
parcel.

§
East Portal and Mary’s Lake campgrounds are very
busy. We have seen much higher usage at these campgrounds. There are still
many infrastructure issues. Things are going well. The staff at Rocky has been
very supportive in sending referrals our way.

§
The partnership with Estes Valley Recreation &
Park District (EVRPD) – Stan Gengler is retiring, and is transferring to a
consulting role during the interim. Dan has been working with Stan on a
capital improvement plan for the next 5 years. The primary focus of
improvements will be the main hub at Mary’s Lake for RV’s. The remaining
shower buildings will be upgraded next winter.

§
Commissioner Donnelly held a public meeting in Estes Park. Before we took over these areas, there was a lot of public opposition to the
master plan, and to fires in Mary’s Lake campground. Tom was extremely
supportive of our efforts and our staff. Dan and Chris are also meeting with
homeowners at their next meeting. Prior to the master plan, local residents
did not know the properties were managed by EVRPD, and not private campgrounds.
Dan feels we are now doing a good job of building bridges with local
constituents. Dan and Chris also made a presentation to the EVRPD board.

§
Field Manager is performing well, with few glitches.
The next conversation at the end of this season is what a rollout to the entire
park system would look like. If we go forward, that will require an entire
year to occur.

§
Horsetooth and Carter are both full. There is no
below-high-water parking.

§
Capital improvement projects for 2011-12:

§
Additional marina parking at Carter Lake and electrical service to the marina
docks

§
Forestry project at Horsetooth

§
Horsetooth S. Bay, additional full-service campsites.

Annual
inspections at the marinas went well. There were no major problems.
Relationships between the marina staff and the county have been admirable.

July
4th weekend was a total zoo, but relatively without incident.
Usually we are in competition with many other recreation opportunities.
But this year, with temperatures in the nineties, we were extremely busy.
Dan is really proud of the seasonal park crew this year. He credits our
superb training program.

S.
Bay campsite project open house: Turnout was light – 5 or 6 people showed
up. They had met in advance with one neighbor, and had a private meeting
with one person who could not attend. One person was concerned about
sewer smell, which has never been an issue. Another person was concerned
about the impact on property values. One person and his son would prefer
no expansion at all at S. Bay. They intend to pass a petition in
opposition. Dan encouraged them to bring it to the next Board meeting.
The two-tier concept is off the table at this point. The issue with the
neighbors is that their elevated decks will look over the camper tops.
Statistics show that we are out of campsites to meet demand. We used to
have 10-12 temporary campsites below high water, which was high
maintenance and low quality camping experience. Now we have established
campsites along the east side. We do not charge differential fees for
waterfront properties. We will have final numbers for the cost of this
project by the next meeting. It may be an action item at the next
meeting.

Board
and staff comment:

Steve
Schweitzer: Is there room for another campsite at the west end of this loop?
[No – steep topography.]

Glen
Doughty: What is the estimated cost of doing the project?

Dan:
The project cost is approximately $200,000, with $93,000 from the BOR and
$100,000 for GOCO being requested. Capital projects are funded through grants,
etc. Potential revenues will never cover the construction cost on top of the
management cost. We are meeting public demand. These are full-hook-up sites,
which are in short supply and high demand.

Frank
Cada: What size of RV will fit? [45 ft. rigs will fit]

It
is July 12, and HT is 6 ft. from full, and still going up. Visitation has
caught up with 2010, or a bit higher, with the hot weather. Horsetooth is
the busiest reservoir in the state, second only to Pueblo. The coves on the
west side are unique, and are packed. Why do we keep adding campsites?
Because we are full, and the demand is there. The biggest challenge is
lack of flat land.

HT
Reservoir has some of the most spectacular cliff-diving in Colorado. Two people have almost died this summer. This is why we don’t allow it – water
levels fluctuate 50 feet vertically, and the water is murky – you can’t
see what you’re jumping into. The water level can drop fast without being
visible to divers.

Swim
beaches are hugely popular – the new one at Sunrise and the remodeled S.
Bay. The smaller shelter at Sunrise is reserved almost every day. The
beaches are packed.

Yoga
on the swim beach at S. Bay has also been very popular, every Saturday, 8
– 9 am, free with a day permit.

We
identified several years ago that special events is one area where we can
grow. One issue is road races on the county parks, which we do not
control. This is a sore spot for neighbors (bicycle traffic around the
reservoirs.) This is a complex issue, involving several County
departments. The County Manager has been supportive of our efforts to
manage the impact of these events on our parks. The quantity of cyclists
that go by HT and Carter every weekend is in the thousands. It’s
difficult to drive in the area; difficult for our staff to do their job.
Big RV’s and pontoon boats, large groups of motorcycles, and no shoulder
along 38E and CR 31.

Mountain
Bike race last weekend went off without a hitch. They were not on
foot-traffic only trails. It was very well organized. Our staff was
impressed with the quality of the event and the racing. There was only
one medical incident. Lory State Park also had 150 additional vehicles
there – more impact there than at HT Mountain. The organizers did trail
repairs this week.

Board and staff comment:

Linda
Knowlton: In the newspaper, it said the trails would be closed during the
race. [True. The race was on Horsetooth Mountain; the parking was on
Lory.]

Steve
Schweitzer: How is the new reservation system working? [Well – no major
problems.] He is concerned about cliff diving – should we barricade them
to be inaccessible?

Dan
Rieves: There is a contingent that wants to legalize it. Another group
wants to control it more strictly. There are about 4 prime places to dive
under normal circumstances. With high water, it’s the whole reservoir.
Barricades would not be effective. Signs have been set in concrete, but
still disappear. We treat it as a high priority because it is a safety
issue, but it is extremely difficult to catch them. How much time do we
allocate toward enforcement? Recreational liability: We do our best to
get the word out via regulations. The other view is if you can’t beat it,
legalize it. Even if we built a sanctioned cliff diving facility, people
would still do it other places.

Russ
Fruits: Encourages Board members to do a ride-a-long with a ranger – it’s
an eye-opener.

Dan
Rieves: Two of our seasonal rangers did the rescue on the woman who was
severely injured two weeks ago. They begin to lose their sense of humor
with people violating safety rules.

Steve
Johnson: Liability would be higher if it were legalized. We have
regulations – people know it is illegal.

Ron
Kainer: He did it himself years ago, so he understands both the appeal
and the inherent risks involved.

§
Steve Schweitzer offered autographed copies of his
newly published book on hiking and fishing in Rocky Mountain National Park to
all Board members.

After the Hanson sale,
conduct a sealed bid auction open to all previous and adjacent landowners
to the .58 ac Colorado Properties LTD parcel.

After the Colorado
Properties LTD parcel sale, conduct a sealed bid auction open to all
previous and adjacent landowners to the 8.25 ac McCargo parcel.

Both bid auctions will have
a minimum amount established.

All sales will have be deed
restricted, non-buildable and the County will retain a 10’ wide fee simple
strip along the entire length of its ownership adjacent to the river
corridor.

Recommendation #2

Trade a deed restricted
non-buildable portion of the west part of the existing day use area to Mr. Buna
in exchange for a portion of the BT River that Mr. Buna owns. The County will
retain a 10’ fee simple buffer between what we trade to Mr. Buna up to the
center of the river. The land traded by Mr. Buna to the County will be from the
top of the bank to the center of the river and the entire length of his river
ownership. As part of this trade, we will abandon the existing parking area and
move it to the east away from Mr. Buna’s home. We will continue to use the
existing park entrance adjacent to the portion traded to Mr. Buna.